Patrol teams trek through deep snow to ensure animals get enough food to survive the tough northern winter.
Forest rangers patrol the Changbai Mountains National Nature Reserve during winter. China Daily
As people across Northeast China were celebrating Spring Festival and preparing to welcome warmer days, life was still hard for wild animals in the Changbai Mountains National Nature Reserve.
In winter, they have to scratch around the frozen ground to find enough food to survive.
The reserve, in Jilin province, consists of about 86 percent forest and is home to more than 1,500 wild species, such as roe and red deer, black bears and yellow-throated martens, according to the local forestry department.
To provide the necessary sustenance for these animals, forest rangers trek across the rugged terrain every day during winter, carrying corn up the mountain.
The temperature on the slopes had dropped as low as -20 C as a result of two heavy snowfalls. Frost covered the rangers' eyelashes, faces and hats as they waded through knee-and even waist-high snow. They walked in a line so the leader could carve a path through the thick snow for those that followed, but some stumbles were unavoidable.
Xu Guihua, the 39-year-old leader of a six-strong team of rangers, said the animals must not be forgotten, even though people were celebrating Spring Festival.
As in previous years, Xu and the other members of his team remained at their posts when most people were enjoying family reunions during China's most important holiday. They huddled together in a 50-square-meter hut at the foot of the mountain, which saved them an hourlong drive from the town, to better protect the animals and plants.
"We cannot take off and leave the forest and its creatures unattended. Instead, we brought our wives and children to celebrate Spring Festival here in the mountains," Xu said.
Each ranger usually carries 25 kilograms of corn during every daily 10-kilometer trek. However, this time they carried more to help the animals through the spell of bad weather.
The weather meant they were only able to take short breaks because the cold wind would enter their sweat-soaked clothes and freeze them to the bones.
"It's boring and hard work on the way, but when we arrive at the feeding spots, there are always a few surprises," Xu said, noting the high number of animal tracks around the wooden feeding shelves that resemble a small pavilion.
"There are so many paw and hoofprints in the snow. Wild pigs and deer must have visited yesterday. We put out 500 kg of corn at each of our two feeding points. We are always pleased to see that all the food has been eaten overnight," Xu said.
Rangers bring corn to one of the feeding points for the animals that live in the mountains. DING LUYANG/FOR CHINA DAILY
He easily identified the animals from their tracks, such as the double nail-like divots made by pigs' trotters and the two small, round holes that indicated deer. He carefully measured the tracks and noted them in a logbook.
In the past decade, the feeding patrols have been one of the reasons the number of wild elk in the area has risen from 10 to 15.
Fierce competition
Cui Zhigang, deputy director of a division at the Changbai Mountains Protection and Management Center, said some experts hold the view that feeding animals during winter undermines their ability to forage, but the fact is that the extreme weather conditions and the thick snow that covers green plants make it extremely difficult for the animals to secure enough food.
"In winter, they migrate from the high-altitude regions, where the thick snow accumulates, to the lower regions. As a result, competition becomes fiercer because most of the animals gather at the lower levels to look for food. The situation poses a threat both to the wild animals and the livestock owned by nearby villagers," he said.
To guarantee the survival of the wild animals and protect their foraging skills, Cui said the center has adopted a scientific feeding method that advocates frequent provision of small amounts of food.
That means the animals will survive, but will need to find their own rations if they want more than the bare minimum.
"In the reserve, we have set up about 200 feeding spots in places where animals regularly appear. The amount of food left at each spot varies according to the frequency of the animals' appearance as recorded by infrared cameras," he said.
After years of effort, data from the center show that since 2006 the number of yellow-throated martens has quadrupled, while the number of wild pigs has tripled.
Dangers
The center, in Antu county, Yanbian Korean autonomous prefecture, employs about 350 people who form 27 teams of rangers across nine stations.
Sun Jiali (left) and Xu Guihua, members of a ranger team, check footprints of wild animals this month. DING LUYANG/FOR CHINA DAILY
Sun Jiali is deputy head of the station that oversees Xu's team. He has worked with Xu for 14 years, during which he has learned about the life-threatening incidents and other dangers and difficulties that frequently trouble the animal-feeding teams when they are in the mountains.
In spring last year, Sun and five other team members had just dropped off supplies at a feeding spot when they became aware of a bear standing near the riverbank about 20 meters away.
"My hair stood on end at the mere sight of it because I'd heard about a ranger from another team who nearly died after being attacked by a bear. We banded together immediately and shouted at it as loud as we could. Fortunately, it seemed startled and quickly left the area," he said.
In addition to the threat posed by wild animals, another regular challenge is getting lost in the mountains. That used to be a frequent occurrence, even for an experienced ranger like Sun.
"Before 2016 we were not equipped with GPS, so we often got lost in the forest even though we patrolled the same area every day. It was very easy to mistake one path for another. Often, we had to sleep in a tent and try to find a way out the next morning," he recalled.
Modernization
Now, both the rangers' equipment and salaries have improved. Every team is equipped with handsets, GPS devices, tents and down-filled sleeping bags. The rangers earn about 3,000 yuan ($446) a month, plus a subsidy of 20 yuan each day they leave base and trek in the mountains, according to the center.
However, compared with other, less arduous work, some new rangers say the salary isn't worth all the hardships they endure, so they quit and find other jobs
Rangers and their families make dumplings at a dwelling in the forest. DING LUYANG/FOR CHINA DAILY
In response, Sun said the animal-protection teams have an unspoken belief that rangers who can handle the first year and decide to stay with the job will never leave.
"Rangers in a team are like families and brothers in arms. We stay together 24 hours a day and go through lots of tough and dangerous situations. All the people here have the same desire－to protect the Changbai Mountains," he said.
Sun said he will stay with the job because he enjoys the working environment. He relishes the opportunity to walk in the forest and breathe the pure air.
He has a 15-year-old daughter and a 4-year-old son, but he is afraid that they will not have the chance to see the wide range of wildlife if there aren't enough rangers to preserve the forest environment and help the animals to survive.
"If they cannot see any wild animals or blue sky, we will be the generation to blame. I won't let that happen, not least for my children's sake," he said.
